I spent five years at Forbes writing about business and leadership, attracting nearly one million unique visitors to Forbes.com each month. While here, I assistant edited the annual World’s 100 Most Powerful Women package and helped launch and grow ForbesWoman.com. I've appeared on CBS, CNBC, MSNBC and E Entertainment and speak often at conferences and events on women's leadership topics. I graduated summa cum laude from New York University with degrees in journalism and sociology and was honored with a best in business award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) in 2012. My work has appeared in Businessweek, Ladies’ Home Journal, The Aesthete and Acura Style. I live in New York City with my husband and can be found on Twitter @Jenna_Goudreau, Facebook, and Google+.

Financial infidelity may be the new normal. In a recent survey, one in three Americans (31%) who have combined their finances admitted lying to their spouses about money, and another one-third of these adults said they’d been deceived.

The online poll, commissioned by ForbesWoman and the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) and conducted by Harris Interactive, surveyed 2,019 U.S. adults from December 17 to 21. Among both offenders and victims, the leading money crimes were hiding cash, minor purchases and bills. Meanwhile, a significant number of people admitted hiding major purchases, keeping secret bank accounts and lying about their debt or earnings.

“A third of the population admits to not being honest with their spouse,” says NEFE chief executive Ted Beck. “That is a big number. These indiscretions cause significant damage to the relationship.”

Among couples impacted by financial infidelity, 67% said the deception led to an argument and 42% said it caused less trust in the relationship. Perhaps most alarming, 16% of these respondents said the money lie led to a divorce and 11% said it led to a separation.

“Betrayal regarding money can be just as painful and damaging as other kinds of cheating,” says Tina Tessina, psychotherapist and author of Money, Sex and Kids: Stop Fighting about the Three Things That Can Ruin Your Marriage. When a partner is caught concealing huge amounts of debt or involved in money-related addictions, the result can be a “total loss of trust, feelings of betrayal and destruction of the relationship.”

Seattle-based Theo Pauline Nestor, 49, learned this the hard way and eventually published an account of her experience, How to Sleep Alone in a King-Size Bed. She and her husband were happily married for 13 years until one day in 2003 when she noticed a curious dip in their joint checking account. When she confronted her husband, a real estate agent with unpredictable hours, she discovered he’d been secretly gambling for years. Not only had he opened several credit cards without her knowledge, he’d racked up thousands of dollars in debt.

“It was terrifying,” she recalls. “My biggest fear was that we would lose our house.”

The couple had two children, ages five and nine, and Nestor made a modest salary as a part-time writing instructor at the University of Washington. Ultimately, fearing for her children’s future and bewildered by the long-term lies, she filed for divorce.

“It felt like finding out about an affair,” says Nestor. “But when your spouse cheats sexually, you can walk away and it’s gone. When they cheat financially, you have to live with the effects for however long it takes to dig out of the hole.”

According to the survey, over half of all financial cheaters admitted hiding cash (58%) or minor purchases (54%). NEFE’s Beck says this is particularly concerning, as small lies often compound over time to become increasingly larger and more harmful deceptions. Of the offenders, 30% have hidden a bill, 16% have hidden a major purchase, 15% had a secret bank account, 11% lied about their debts and another 11% lied about the amount of money they earned.None of this surprised Nancy Chemtob, founding partner of matrimonial and family law firm Chemtob Moss Forman & Talbert LLP in New York, who says she’s seen it all. According to the survey, money deception occurs equally across income levels—no matter if you’re earning $30,000 or $300,000. Chemtob only accepts clients with a net worth of $5 million or more and has observed that having more money only means more elaborate schemes.

Example A: she once worked with the owner of a hedge fund who secretly spent millions on a mistress. In five of their 10 years of marriage, his wife had no clue that he was spending over $20,000 a month on the other woman, ultimately buying her a house, car and extravagant jewelry.

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Lies are lies are lies, no matter how they are packaged. In an economy like this it is not a surprise that money lies are more common. Marriage vows are for better or worse, sickness and health, rich or poor. Anytime we lie to our spouse, it is a shortcoming of our own doing, forgetting that we took a vow to love one another regardless.

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My Ex-wife didn’t tell me here credit was destroyed, that she owed $20,000. When I got married to my ex, she has asked for a joint bank account, her logic she said was that she would pay the bills because I worked. Long story short, she had used a debit card for transactions at Target, no big deal in my eyes, we needed stuff from there because we had a family…issue was this, she would return everything for cash, next fun part was spending our mortgage payment around the 25th of every month, making our house payment fall onto the first pay period of the next month and then leaving us cash poor. Being foolish I still was trusting her, I’d not figured out she was doing the return for cash yet,I figured this out one month when my bank called me and asked me when I was making a deposit, I said “my wife just did” they said “we saw her come in and cash a check” and I think no big deal, easy fix right, noooooo!! They had already gone through my savings, and my checking account was -$9800! She had also changed my contact info at our mortgage company, I then find out she hadn’t made a mortgage payment in 4 months, the mortgage people said my telephone number didn’t work, surely they could mail me, they did mail me, she had been having the mail held at the post office, then putting it in our mail box herself. She had used our money on going out, Cocaine, her two boyfriends and had spent $4000 on dog outfits and dog bags! At our divorce hearing she said that I had ruined her, and she had to start over again because I has wasted all our money. she also said that I’d not given her any money for the kids, while I’d left her $5000 at our break up, this is while she is living rent free at her parents house.

Long story short, courts made me pay for her attorney, pay more child support and worse and worse…family courts here in the US are very broken, clearly their focus is on the federal cash incentives, not whats fair, or what’s best for the children, or even if allegations have facts! I’m now remarried to a genius, she has a 162IQ, and makes $240,000 a year, she is also the only female in a Director position at the corporation she works at. She is a financial Wizard, and at 38 has $600,000 saved for retirement, and $150,000 in stocks. I’m so happy to be with a winner, and not a whiner!!

My husband has been financially cheating our entire marriage but didn’t find out until my car was repossessed because he couldn’t hide that. We’re on the verge of a 2nd bankruptcy and definitely losing our home. I was mortified and so embarrassed but I tried to forgive him because of the kids and he said he change (what a joke). A little over a year ago, I discovered he was opening credit cards in my name so I went to see an attorney and started the divorce process. However, a month later he was diagnosed with cancer. So I’m still here and I hate it, but I don’t want to be the bitch who leaves her husband when he’s ill. I’ve started taking an antidepressant just to get through it. I haven’t worked in 16 years but I am looking. I feel so trapped, no one wins and everyone gets hurt. Financial infidelity sucks!

I can’t imagine, how someone could do that for his wife. I think, at the first time it was a strong sign to you to break down the trust in your marriage and take him to responsibility. I’ve never believed for any forgiveness in that kind of lies.

Cheating a spouse had remained a time-old crisis,whether it related to infidelity or money! If there is no bondage of true love based on trust,commitment and dedication of caring for each other,betrayals would become quite common.The present world is drifting apart at a faster pace,not only betraying their spouses,but are blowing all the true values of life.Even in the past,many rich men used to own different homes/apartments,to maintain illicit relationships with other women,and even would sire their kids outside the wedlock! What’s lacking in the present world is “Trust and loyality” that’s why many wedlocks are broken soon after their marital vows! Only some miracle can resolve the present malady which has overtaken the spouses lives.Trust-deficit is widening inbetween lives of the spouses.If a couple remains loyal to each other and bestow unfettered love and oblige the other with equal spirit of caring,no problem would arise.Author’s suggestion to take assessment of each-partners’ income/expenditure during tax-season,would still not be workable! The country has got a battery of CPA companies too well-versed to arm a willy cheater how to trick the spouse and still hide actual financial deals,the same way,the IRS could be fed with manipulated tax-returns!

[...] about financial matters. Thanks to Paul Byerly for pointing me to an excellent article in Forbes, Is Your Partner Cheating on You Financially. There’s also a link to signs your spouse is lying about money. It serves as a reminder to have [...]

[...] 2nd, 2011 – 8:40 am – Economics, Math, Business, and Finance, Politics, Philosophy, and Religion According to a recent survey of married couples, about one-third of respondents said they had lied to their spouse about money–hiding purchases, [...]

[...] *Just when you thought you’d run out of ways to cheat on your significant other, we bring you financial infidelity. Does this mean we’ll actually have to start balancing our checkbooks? (Forbes) [...]

[...] week I sent this Forbes Magazine article, “Is Your Partner Cheating On You Financially? 31% Admit Money Deception” by Jenna Goudreau, around to a few friends, who had not necessarily had this experience, but [...]

[...] it comes to finances, women and men are alike in one way: According to a recent survey of married couples, about one-third of respondents said they had lied to their spouse about money–hiding purchases, [...]

[...] it comes to finances, women and men are alike in one way: According to a recent survey of married couples, about one-third of respondents said they had lied to their spouse about money–hiding purchases, [...]

[...] commissioned by ForbesWoman and the National Endowment for Financial Education, and covered in a recent Forbes.com blog post, 31 percent of Americans who have combined their finances said they lied to their spouses about [...]

[...] consecrated by ForbesWoman and a National Endowment for Financial Education, and lonesome in a recent Forbes.com blog post, 31 percent of Americans who have total their finances pronounced they lied to their spouses about [...]

[...] commissioned by ForbesWoman and the National Endowment for Financial Education, and covered in a recent Forbes.com blog post, 31 percent of Americans who have combined their finances said they lied to their spouses about [...]

[...] I was delighted to know that I am not the only with financial indiscretions. According to Forbes , 31% of us are already doing it anyway. My first reaction? Well, if so many of us are already [...]

[...] If there is a problem and the patient is not emotionally stable or financially secure, ?the results can be disastrous,? says Robin Yuan, plastic surgeon and author of Behind the Mask, Beneath the Glitter. A person who is already insecure about an aspect of their appearance may suffer a severe blow to their confidence if the surgery goes awry. At the same time, Yuan says many patients borrow money for the initial surgery. If they need an additional procedure, follow-up costs can devastate their financial lives. [...]

[...] If there is a problem and the patient is not emotionally stable or financially secure, ?the results can be disastrous,? says Robin Yuan, plastic surgeon and author of Behind the Mask, Beneath the Glitter. A person who is already insecure about an aspect of their appearance may suffer a severe blow to their confidence if the surgery goes awry. At the same time, Yuan says many patients borrow money for the initial surgery. If they need an additional procedure, follow-up costs can devastate their financial lives. [...]

Funny thing is that lying about money to their wives doesn’t seem to them as serious infidelity as a love affair. Oh, and if lying emerges from guilt or fear or low self esteem, the best defence is to point at the other and find excuses for their behaviour (“wanted to protect”, “I can take care of it”, etc. Or /and, they will actually blame others (wife, market, life, etc) for their financial situation and lies. mmmmmmm…childish men never grow up…

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Great Atakpo i thank you very much thank you in 1000000 times.. if not you i would have been losted and wasted thank you. Email Him Through his email address… atakpotemble@yahoo.com

please make sure you contact him for any financial difficulties okay..

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My name is Elerit from Poland, I came across a happy mariage life from this Vudoo master spell caster a friend directed me to enough for all that he has done for me. thank you so much great spell caster. You have really changed my life for the better. I am more confident. My husband always abusing me and after the spell you cast, he totally changed from a quarrelsome husband to a lovely and caring husband which every woman would desire. I am also excited about the spell i found help. I promised to spread his good work, if you need anything feel free to contact contact him on vudoospell@gmail.com.”

I live in united state, Two years ago i married a lady called saline, we had two children together, we were very happy to be husband and wife, so when i travel on business trip to Brazil, i spent 1 years in Brazil due to my kind of business, i and my wife talked on phone all the time, we chat on the Internet, i never knew that my wife had started cheating on me by going out with her old school friend called mark, i never knew something was going wrong till i came back from my trip, then i and My wife started having problems, she goes out and come back late at night, she changed in a strange way that i could not endure, i tried to do everything to please her but it got worst, so one day she left the house and never came back, i tried reaching her but no way i could reach her, i never knew she traveled with her new lover which was mark, i wanted her so much because of the children she left for me and because i loved her so much too, because of the heart break she put me into, i went into search of a real magic spell caster I was scammed twice by a spell caster, but I never relented in my search because I want a happy life with my wife, so one morning i saw testimony about a spell caster Dr okosisi, so i contacted him and to my greatest surprise this okosisi.temple@gmail.com made life manful for me again, my wife came back to me, i took her back and I am now settled with my wife by the magic power of Dr okosisi.temple@gmail.com spell

- I am kasha i lives in uk and i was in a serious relationship with my ex guy for three good years.. One day we were in a dinner party, we had a little misunderstanding which lead to a Quarrel and he stood up and left me at the dinner party. i try to call him but he was not picking my calls so after than i contacted my brother and told him about it,my brother so much love me that he had to see him on my behalf,he told my brother that it is over between us.. Then i contacted a friend of mine that had this similar experience and she directed me to one of the spiritual diviner (maduraitemple@yahoo.com).at first i thought it was not going to be possible and i contacted him i was ask to come up with a little requirement,so i did what i was ask to do, after 3 days i was in my office when my ex guy called me and was asking me to forgive him and come back to him. i was very surprise it was like a dream to me,so ever since we have been happily married with one kid my lovely baby(Ceslav)…i wish you the best of luck…

Life can be very displeasing especially when we loose the ones we love and cherish so much. in this kind of situation where one loses his/her soul mate there are several dangers engage in it. one may no longer be able to do the things he was doing before then success will be very scarce and happiness will be rare. that person was created to be with you for without him things may fall apart. That was my experience late last year. but thank god today i am happy with him again. all thanks to DR AKPAKPA, i was nearly loosing hope until i saw an article on how DR AKPAKPA could cast a love spell to make lovers come back. There is no harm in trying, i said to my self. i contacted him via email: afiamensolutionshrine@yahoo.com. words will not be enough to appreciate what he has done for me. i have promised to share the good news as long as i live.

Hello everyone my name is Cindy John, i just want to share my experience and testimony here.. i was married for 7 years to my husband and all of a sudden, another woman came into the picture he started hating me and he was abusive. but i still loved him with all my heart and wanted him at all cost then he filed for divorce my whole life was turning apart and i didn’t know what to do he moved out of the house and abandoned the kids that we have, so someone told me about trying spiritual means to get my husband back and introduced me to a spell caster name prophetludaspelltemple@outlook.com. so i decided to try it reluctantly. although i didn’t believe in all those things then when he did the special prayers and spell, after 2 days, my husband came back and was pleading for my forgiveness that he had realized his mistakes I just couldn’t believe it anyway we are back together now and we are happy in case anyone needs this man, his email address prophetludaspelltemple@outlook.com his spells is for a better life.

i am Mrs mercy i am hear to give testimony of how i got back my husband, we got married for more than 2 years and have gotten two kids. thing were going well with us and we are always happy. until one day my husband started to behave in a way i could not understand, i was very confused by the way he treat me and the kids. later that month he did not come again and he called me that he want a divorce, I asked him what have i done wrong to deserve this from him, all he was saying that he want a divorce and that he hates me and do not want to see me again in his life, i was mad and also frustrated do not know what to do,i was sick for more than 2 weeks because of the divorce. i love him so much he was everything to me without him my life is incomplete. i told my sister and she told me to contact a spell caster, i never believe in all this spell casting of a thing. i just want to try if something will come out of it. I contacted DR. omoba for the return of my husband to me, they told me that my husband have been taken by another woman that she cast a spell on him that is why he hates me and also want us to divorce. then they told me that they have to cast a spell on him that will make him return to me and the kids, they cast the spell and after 3 days my husband called me and he told me that i should forgive him, he settled to apologize on phone and said that he still love me that he did not know what happen to him that he left me. it was the spell that the Dr omoba shrine casted on him that made him comeback to me today,me and my family are now happy again today. thank you DR. omoba for what you have done for me i would have been nothing today if not for your great spell. i want you my friends who are passing through this kind of love problem of getting back their husband, wife , or ex boyfriend and girlfriend to contact dromobaspellhome@gmail.com and you will see that your problem will be solved.

It was a complete sudden stop in my life when my relationship with my fiancee came to a halt without any reason and he said that he has fallen for someone else, it was Dr. Stanley who helped me get back my fiancee with a love spell and now we are happily married, thanks a lot Dr. Stanley. If you need his help to restore your relationship back, you can contact him via drstanleyspelltemple@hotmail.com.——-Meggie

Money rules marriage relationship and couples fight over money matters as if they were strangers. Why has money assumed such an importance in marriage? Couples marry out of love, but as years go by their concentration is on money. Wife wants to save as she is worried about the financial future of her family, while her husband wants to spend as he is only focused on today. This contrasting nature between couples make them hide their financial dealings. Wife saves without the knowledge of her husband and husband hides the financial mess he is in because of his reckless spending. They should realize that money is just a tool to give them a good standard of living and does not bring in any happiness in their relationship. Transparency in money matters can do away with the stress you feel when you know that your spouse is hoarding money instead of pooling the family out of its financial mess.

I was married for 8years with out any child,because of this my husband start acting very strange at home,coming home late and not spending time with me any more.So i became very sad and lost in life because my doctor told me there is no way for me to get pregnant this really make life so hard for me and my family.my sister in law told me about Prophet Osaze from the Internet,how he has helped people with this similar problem that i am going through so i contacted him and explain to him.he cast a spell and it was a miracle three days later my husband can back to apologize for all he has done and told me he is fully ready to support me in any thing i want,few month later i got pregnant and gave birth to twins (girls) we are happy with ourselves. Thanks to Prophet Osaze for saving my relationship and for also saving others too. continue your good work, If you are interested to contact him and testify this blessings like me, the great spell caster email address:”spirituallove@hotmail. com”

My husband hid money. His pay was automatically deposited into our checking, so I never looked at his pay stubs. He had a secret checking account that was also automatically deposited into every pay period. He start off hiding money, then years later he had an affair. I think one lie leads to another. Now I check EVERYTHING. He hates that I check up on him, and I hate it too. The trust is gone and it is a struggle to get back.